Courtesy Xochitl Mora,

Laredo, TX- The City of Laredo Health Department’s Healthy Living/Viviendo Mejor program will be hosting free Diabetes Support Group sessions starting this week.  The Diabetes Support Group gives adults with diabetes and their families and friends continuing peer support.  Five weekly meetings have been scheduled and will feature a variety of topics related to diabetes presented by experts in the healthcare field.  The Diabetes Support Group will meet once a week for the next five weeks at the City of Laredo Health Department’s Healthy Learning Center (2600 Cedar Ave). We urge the public to participate as the entire family needs to address the crisis of diabetes. 

Dates and Topics:

June 20, 2012

“High Blood Pressure and Diabetes”

Carlos Canova, MD

Laredo Medical Center

All Sessions will start at 6:00 p.m at the City of Laredo Health Department – Healthy Learning Center, 2600 Cedar Avenue.

 No registration is required and walk-ins are welcome. For more information, call 955-795-4900 ext 4557 or 956-795-4918.

(Laredo, Tx)-Over 750 students from all LISD campuses will be participating today in a year-end celebration for participating in a yearlong anti-bullying campaign known as Rachel’s Challenge.  Students will gather at Shirley Field Stadium at 9:30a.m.  to present paper links that they have garnered throughout the school year for random acts of kindness. The students will also be releasing balloons in celebration of a very successful campaign.  Highlighting the event will be keynote speaker District Attorney Isidro “Chilo” Alaniz.

 Enterprises, a private contractor, will be working along Matamoros Street between San Eduardo Avenue and San Francisco Avenue from Monday, May 21 to Friday, May 25 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.  This work will entail a sidewalk closure only.  They will be working on a bore along the sidewalk on Matamoros Street.  

 Pedestrians are asked to find alternate routes if possible as the work progresses.  If driving in the area, please obey all traffic signs and be careful with workers in the area.

  Any questions please contact Mr. David Saucedo at (210) 669-4193.

 Laredo, Texas has a proud history – and that history includes the legacy of Laredo’s Jewish community. Next week, that legacy will be shared anew, thanks to a new documentary film created by the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL).

            The film will premiere in the Student Center at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 6 p.m.

            Oral historian and filmmaker Josh Parshall will be in attendance.  Jeanette Hatcher, TAMIU Special Collections librarian, has also prepared a special exhibit about Jewish life in South Texas that will be displayed in the TAMIU Student Center through June.  To learn more about the event, call the ISJL at 601-362-6357 or contact Hatcher at 956.326.2404.

            The project was made possible thanks to the generosity of International Bank of Commerce (IBC). Lester Avigael, a longtime IBC board member and past president, passed away in 2008. Avigael was a pillar of the Jewish community, and  IBC chose to honor him with a significant gift to his synagogue, Agudas Achim, which enabled the Laredo Jewish Legacy Project to get underway.  It includes the documentary film production, as well as a new archival collection focusing on South Texas Jewish life that will be housed at TAMIU.

            Hatcher said this is the inception of the University’s South Texas Jewish Heritage Collection.  

            “The interviews being gifted to TAMIU will serve as a cornerstone of this Collection.  The film premiere is also an effort at raising awareness that we are seeking additional donations of materials relating to this Collection.  For example, we are looking for books, diaries, correspondence, and photographs depicting the various aspects of the lives and activities of local Jewish families,” Hatcher explained.

            Agudas Achim, a Conservative congregation, partnered with the now-inactive Reform congregation, B’nai Israel. Together, they contacted the ISJL and commissioned a series of oral history interviews. ISJL’s Oral Historian, Josh Parshall, spent a week in Laredo, interviewing 17 current and former residents of the community. More than 20 hours of interview footage was collected. Parshall then edited together a 105-minute film, telling the collective story of Laredo’s Jewish community.

            Some of the documentary highlights include:

            *German-Jewish merchants arriving in the area along with the railroads in the late 1800s

            *The establishment of B’nai Israel (Reform) in the 1920s

            *The growth of the Eastern European Jewish population, which was largely rooted across the border in Nuevo Laredo, as the USA had drastically limited immigration in the 1920s

            *The movement of those Yiddish-speaking Jews across the border in the 1940s

            *Later arrival of Jews from USSR and Latin American countries

            *Strong environment for retail during the postwar years until recently, when policy changes, economic troubles and violence in Northern Mexico have slowed business

            *Major figures in Laredo Jewish life, and Jewish contributions to the broader community.

            The Laredo Jewish Legacy Project is another element of the ISJL’s ongoing commitment to preserving and sharing the legacy of the Southern Jewish experience. The  ISJL’s Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities, accessible online, includes histories for over 220 Jewish communities across the South, all available online. Researched and written by the staff of the ISJL History Department, these illustrated online histories trace the story of Jewish settlement, from its origins, to the rise of established Jewish communities and congregations, and sometimes to their eventual decline.

            The Texas section of the Encyclopedia, completed earlier this year,  includes long histories of such large Jewish communities as Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas, as well as smaller towns like Palestine, Brenham, and Laredo.

            For additional information about the TAMIU South Texas Jewish Heritage Collection, contact Hatcher at TAMIU at 956.326.2404 or email jhatcher@tamiu.edu.

At MK’s you will also find non-alcoholic beverages, chips, dips, ice, leña and household items such as religous candles and cleaning items like dishwashing soap and much more.  MK’s Mini-Mart is a family run business were their girls are always dressed appropriately.   Stop by today and experience the difference.

(Laredo, Tx)-On Friday, May 18, Texas A&M International University employees will spend part of  the afternoon and part of the morning at the University’s annual TAMIU Enrichment Day, starting at 11:30 a.m. and concluding at 5 p.m.

            While University offices will remain open, staff and services will be greatly reduced.

            The annual event is set aside to offer development sessions to all University employees under relaxed and fun-filled conditions.

            The University will recognize certain employees for Employee Service Awards, Outstanding Employee Awards, degree completion, state employee charitable contribution and All4TAMIU.

            All TAMIU full-time employees will attend small afternoon sessions covering topics ranging from healthy lifestyle habits, communication, better customer service and office etiquette.

            The event is coordinated by the University’s Office of Human Resources.

            For more information, contact the Office of Human Resources at 326.2365, visit offices in the Sue and Radcliffe Library, room 320 or click on tamiu.edu

University office hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

For mobile access to TAMIU, download the free Powered by TAMIU application for smartphones and iPad at http://www.tamiu.edu/mobile/apps.shtml

Courtesy Kristina Guerra,

 In recognition of Law Enforcement “Police” Week, the Webb County Sheriff’s Office  hosted the 2012 Law Enforcement Awards Ceremony that  included local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.  The program shedule consisted of several categories of awards such as The  Law Enforcement Appreciation Award, Meritorious Award, Law Enforcement Civilian Support Award, Life Safety Award, Supervisor of the Year, Sheriff’s Award, Sheriff’s Choice Award among many others.  The event was held yesterday morning at Roli’s Music Hall.

Police Out in Force May 21 – June 3 for Click It or Ticket Campaign

AUSTIN — From May 21 through June 3, including the Memorial Day weekend, thousands of state troopers, police officers and sheriff’s deputies across the Lone Star state will be on the lookout for drivers and passengers who are not buckled up or whose children are not properly restrained. 

Throughout this two week-long enforcement period of the Texas Department of Transportation’s annual Click It or Ticket campaign, drivers and passengers who choose not to fasten their seat belts could be pulled over and fined up to $250, plus court costs.

Texas law requires that both drivers and passengers wear seat belts. Children younger than 8 years old must ride in a child safety seat or booster seat unless they are taller than 4 feet 9 inches.   TxDOT uses the “Click It or Ticket” campaign to raise awareness about the law surrounding seat belt use and the importance of always buckling up.

“It only takes a minute to strap on your seat belt and to make sure that everyone else in your vehicle is properly restrained,” said Carol Rawson, TxDOT’s Traffic Operations division director. “That one minute can save a life. We shouldn’t have to remind people to wear seat belts. But just in case, police officers around the state will be pulling over folks who still have not gotten the message.”

Traffic crashes remain a leading cause of death in Texas. In 2011, nearly 3,000 people died in fatal collisions on Texas streets and highways. Almost half of those drivers and passengers were not buckled up. Wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of fatal injury by 45 percent for car occupants and 60 percent for light-truck occupants.

“Click It or Ticket is not just about writing tickets. It’s about saving lives,” said Rawson. “Seat belt use in Texas is much higher than it was when we started this effort 11 years ago, but we still have some holdouts. We want everyone to get on board with the habit of buckling up.”

Most at risk for serious injury or death are pickup truck drivers and passengers. Pickups account for one in four registered vehicles in Texas and are twice as likely to roll in a crash. However, seat belt use among pickup drivers and passengers continues to lag. Ninety-one percent of pickup drivers buckle up compared to 95 percent of other drivers. And, only 80 percent of truck passengers use seat belts compared to 92 percent of passengers in other vehicles.

In fact, Texas currently ranks seventh in the nation for overall seat belt use, and 93.7 percent of Texas motorists use seat belts according to the Texas Transportation Institute. Experts at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimate that the steady increase in seat belt usage in Texas over the past 10 years has resulted in 2,843 fewer traffic fatalities, 48,000 fewer serious injuries and a savings to the state of more than $10 billion in associated costs.

To access campaign photos and video, visit:

http://sherrymatthews.com/pr/txdotclick/index.html

Visit www.texasclickitorticket.com for more information.

In addition to opening day for the Laredo Lemurs and the return of professional baseball to Laredo, the first flight from Laredo to Orlando/Sanford departed Laredo yesterday at 5:20pm.  This is the second year/season that Allegiant has offered direct flights from LRD to Orlando. 

 Airfare begins at $150 RT to Orlando, and $182 RT to Las Vegas.  For more information on fares and availability, please visit www.allegiant.com.  To avoid the $25 convenience fee for each ticket, please visit the LRD terminal prior to or after a departure to purchase your tickets and save the $25 convenience fee.

 The season begins with daily flights on Sundays and Thursdays to Orlando.  Frequency of the flights from LRD to Orlando will increase to 3 flights per week while flights from LRD to Las Vegas will continue on Sundays and Thursdays and increase to 6 flights per week.  During the peak summer time of June/July, Allegiant will offer up to 9 weekly flights, 3 to Orlando, and 6 to Las Vegas.

 We understand everyone has a choice in air travel and we appreciate your support of your Laredo International Airport.